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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · race · hand · rule · capital · racket · march · jam

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. race — the arms race
  4. rule — government
  5. race — humankind
  6. file — a line of people
  7. capital — a city
  8. rule — a law
  9. race — a contest
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. file — a tool
  14. hand — help
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. march — the month
  17. capital — money
  18. march — the month
  19. file — a document
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. march — music
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com